MANY iTaukei people rely on the indigenous calendar to plant crops and harvest, which fish and sea delicacy would be for which season, when to expect fruits and so forth.
For an iTaukei, the month of September is known as Vula-i-Vavakada, which means that yam plants sprout and began to wound itself to supporting poles of racks prepared by the farmer, the kawakawa fish spawns, mangoes begin to bear fruit and in the olden days the yearly planting of yams is celebrated in this month through a game of veitiqa.
The people of Kiuva in the district of Bau, in Tailevu is no different.
From this month until January, Kiuva villagers expect to collect one particular fish specie known as Ki mostly found in Kiuva waters.
Roko Tui Kiuva’s spokesperson Asivorosi Tora said the Ki is a special fish to everyone from Kiuva because it was known as the ika ni yabaki (annual fish), being only found once a year.
Mr Tora said the story behind the Ki as told to him by his father and grandfather was that the fish rightfully belonged to the people of Nasilai, which was Kiuva’s neighbouring village.
According to Mr Tora, many years ago, way before civilisation, a woman from Nasilai married a man from Kaba, which is located a few distance from Kiuva. Few years after the woman married the man, her relatives from Nasilai decided to pay the woman a visit and had taken with them the fish (Ki) to present as gift to the people of Kaba.
Mr Tora said while still on the road to Kaba, the people of Nasilai heard that the couple were no longer together, so instead of continuing their journey to Kaba, the party instead visited Kiuva and presented their gifts of fish to the people of Kiuva.
He said this was how the Ki became a totem for the people of Kiuva.
He said the Ki was very special in the sense, because in the month October, men and women would cast fishing nets and could fill buckets as hundreds would be trapped in the nets.
“We don’t fish using fishing lines or spear guns, we just cast nets along our shoreline and would just go in the morning with our buckets and basins to collect Ki,” Mr Tora said.
He said the people of Kiuva love to eat the Ki by smoking their catch in open fire (ika tavu).
“It’s also a special fish because it should be cooked before the sun rises.
“If it is exposed to sunlight, it will turn soft and would not be fit for consumption.
Mr Tora said even putting it inside the freezer for preservation wouldn’t work.
He said that Ki should be cooked before sunrise and eaten within the same day.
The Ki of Kiuva has a special mark and that is a black spot at the tail of the fish.
“There is a lot of fish species but the Ki found only in Kiuva has a black spot on its tail, which was done by the people of Navulo, another neighbouring village,” he said.
“Whenever we find a fish that has a black spot on its tail we know straight away that it is a Ki from our waters.”
To reach Kiuva Village, one would first go past Navulo, Kaba before reaching the village.
Mr Tora said a story passed down to them by their forefather is that many years ago, fishermen from Kaba had tried to catch the Ki but was unsuccessful.
He said every year the month of October is a month that many people of Kiuva looked forward to.
But things have begun to change. Mr Tora said for some times now, the fish stock had decreased because of the effects of climate change.
“The catch number has decreased tremendously, and we know it because of the changing weather pattern,” he added.
